11 Mistakes You’re Making In The Bathroom (And How To Fix Them)

You still douche

A healthy vagina has good and bad bacteria, and the balance between the two maintains an acidic environment that helps protect it from infections and irritation. So when you insist on flushing it out with some prepackaged mixture of fluids or homemade concoction, it can disrupt the normal pH levels, increasing the risk of irritation, itching, and infection. Douching can also make an existing vaginal infection worse, by pushing the bacteria and infection up into the uterus and other reproductive organs. Your body’s got the cleanliness of your inside vag handled — without any extra help from a squeeze bottle. When you bathe, wash your front as you would your rear: warm water and mild soap.

You toss in wet wipes

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Many claim to be sewer and septic safe, but tests conducted by Consumer Reports showed otherwise: some personal cleansing wipes didn’t break down in water after 10 minutes, compared to regular toilet paper that disintegrated into tiny bits in a few seconds.

Reports have shown these not-so-flushables are clogging sewer systems in spots including San Francisco, Miami, Washington, D.C. and New York City. Some other toiletries that don’t belong in the toilet: dental floss, band-aids, sanitary napkins, tampons, and condoms.

You flush, lid up

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Not only can that can send a spray of toilet ick flying into the air, but the particles can be propelled as far as six feet away from the swirling bowl, according to research by germ expert Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. Feel free to take a quick survey of your bathroom stuff within those limits; then implement your new lid-down rule (and store that toothbrush inside the medicine cabinet, just in case).

Your toilet paper hangs “under”

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It may be time to consider this century-old debate put to rest: Journalist Owen Williams tweeted a picture of the first toilet paper patent, and the 1891 drawing shows the toilet paper hanging over—not under—the roll. In other news, those toilet rugs that are cut to fit around the base of your bowl, and sometimes come with a carpet-like matching seat cover, are considered among the biggest decorating mistakes, according to HGTV. Their styling solution: a small rectangular rug in front of the toilet.